The holidays are almost here! If you’re anything like us, you love to spoil your pets. It’s always fun watching them sniff their little gift boxes while trying to rip them open. To make holiday shopping easier, we put together a list of great gifts for dogs and cats. Of course don't forget BOGO Bowl foods - they're the gift that gives year round!

FOR THE DOGS

1: PupJoy Subscription
PupJoy is pawsome because boxes are customized by and for you so your furry family gets exactly what they want! We're big fans.

3: Sculpey Keepsake Deluxe Pawprint Kit
This keepsake pawprint kit is perfect for both dogs and cats. There’s no better way to remember your pet by taking a clay mold of their paw prints. Plus, you can hang it on the tree as an ornament!

5: Einstein Pets Organic Pet Treats
Most dogs love treats, that much is known. These gourmet cookies are great for the holidays because they are Christmas-themed! They come in a cute gift box, as well.

4: PAWZ Road Pet Cat Happy Christmas Gift Set
This stocking is perfect for Christmas: you can hang it on the mantle just like your human stockings! Your cat won’t feel left out. It’s full of toys so your kitty will be happy!

"We are like most shelters and overrun with cats, our average cat stay before adoption is 6 months to a year. We run on donations for food and supplies, any money goes to paying for our bills, lights, heat, water.... " says Joy, the director of Clarke County Animal Shelter in Osceola, Iowa. "We house 11 cats in our adoption area! We house 12 dogs for adoption at one time! We work with rescues and shelters around us."

Read the story of Ripley, as told by a volunteer:

Ripley came to us as a city stray and was found around the 400 block of N. Main St. in Osceola, Iowa. Sadly when he came to us he was in a very horrible condition that would make even the most strong of stomachs become squeamish. With fur so matted you couldn’t even tell for sure if he was a boy or a girl at first. The fur was covered in what we thought might be car oil grease as well as mud that made his smell very unpleasant. If you saw his feet they were covered with fecal matter and the toe nails were starting to press into the pads of his feet, where they weren’t wrapped in hair that is.

By this point we were searching and searching for his owner, in hopes there could be some light shed on why this poor dog was in such a state. For all we know he had been missing quite some time and was never able to be caught before now. We really tried to find the owner, but this was with no avail. And the owner for Ripley never came forward to claim him, which in time meant he became a shelter dog. Once that happened Ripley was immediately set up to get a shave down to see how severe his problems really were under all the matted and mud covered fur.

Little did we know at that time what we had gotten ourselves into and what we would find under ever little patch of fur we shaved away from his body. After the first few passes we already could tell he had been this way for even longer then we had thought at first. His skin had red patches of irritation that came from lack of air being able to reach it as well as the fleas chewing away in the same area. When we got the body almost done we tried to work on his face some to help him be able to see a bit better. That is when we noticed that his ear had been split open by a tooth of another dog.

Soon after that we finished his shave down completely and we were able to find out he was an intact male Shih-tzu. It was hard to believe under all that matted mess that there was a cute little dog that always seemed to have a smile on his face. The fur that came off the dog filled up about half of a 10 gallon garage bag, that is a lot of fur from one little Shih-tzu.

Through all of this, Ripley never did lose the smile on his face. And because of this he was quickly adopted by a great and loving family that understood he had a rough life before them and came with a few quirks of his own.

In June we're featuring rural Iowa shelters, spotlighting their lifesaving efforts on behalf of animals in their communities. First up is Calhoun County Canine Shelter. Not only do they keep local animals safe, they've also thought outside the box - or maybe inside the box - to help animals, and people. Read more below.

Calhoun County Canine Shelter is a small shelter that began for animal control about 20 yrs ago, as the county had no such program. The program has steadily grown to a small shelter that houses 5 or so dogs at a time. We have gotten several grants and done a few fundraisers and now have indoor/outdoor runs in a dedicated building and even have heated floors! The dogs can go outside as they choose or can stay indoors.

We started working with our local Correctional Facility about 10 years ago and used men who were trained by Leader Dogs for the Blind. When they didn’t have a leader dog they worked with shelter dogs! That not only helped with their skills in dog training but got our adoptable dogs trained and helped them make a better transition into a forever home! We have had many wonderful families and dogs come together this way! Now the Leader Dog program is no longer there and we are able to have about 5 dogs housed out there at one time for training. The dogs are able to stay with their handler until adopted. The men also gain from this program and have learned to give back to society and take great pride in the dogs they put out into families.